


Sly Fox

by Doctor_Who_Cares



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animagus, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Protective Snape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-02 02:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15786900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Who_Cares/pseuds/Doctor_Who_Cares
Summary: Harry had heard of guardian angels, but a guardian fox?





	Sly Fox

After Dumbledore had placed a small, grizzling Harry onto the doormat of number four Privet Drive they all left. There were other things to do - finding out what had become of Voldemort, what this meant for the rest of the Wizarding world and finding Sirius Black, the traitor. So many things needed to be seen to, that no one could stay with the little baby who'd just had the worst day of his short life, but who had also saved the Wizarding world whether he knew it or not.

A note was left with him, a brief explanation of events but nothing more. That was all they needed, they were family. They'd take care of him, right?

Even if that were true, which as it transpired wasn't, for tonight while the rest of the Wizarding world rejoiced the death of the Dark Lord, Harry cried for his dead parents, for the cold, and the uncomfortable step he'd been left on. He cried alone in the dark.

Alone at least until the fox came.

*****

Severus wandered down the street, he knew full well where they'd taken Potter. He lurked in the shadows watching them all talk. Minerva was right, anyone Petunia would be involved with would be awful, she was always the _worst_ kind of Muggle. He couldn't believe how stupid the headmaster was sometimes, especially when he saw Hagrid coming from over head with the boy.

They spent little time talking before leaving the boy on the doorstep of these Muggles.

He watched the boy cry and shiver, wondering what was going through the boy's head. He was likely wondering where he was, and why it was all so strange and cold. Why his mommy, Lily, wasn't coming even though he'd been crying for _so_ long.

He didn't want to go closer and risk being seen by someone, that would be difficult to explain. But after a minute he couldn't stand there watching him suffer, no wonder the others had left so soon.

He transformed into his animagus - no one was going to interrogate a fox - and moved closer.

He touched a paw to the boy, feeling how cold he was, and with a huff he started to curl himself around the small boy. The crying slowed, leaving Harry just hiccupping quietly. Harry edged closer to the fox seeking its warmth.

He was still a bit cold and uncomfortable, but he wasn't alone any more so it was bearable.

*** * ***

A scrawny five year old Harry Potter was reaching up as high as he could on the tops of his toes, pushing a lawnmower much to big and dangerous for him to be using around the garden. He stumbled every now and then on his shirt, or more accurately his cousin's old shirt, that came past Harry's knobbly knees.

Severus watched – in his fox form – from a hiding spot out of sight. He couldn't believe what he saw - a child of five, on his birthday no less, mowing a lawn. It was disgusting, but what was more so was the fact Dumbledore wasn't doing anything about it. He knew, he _must_. He must have eyes on his star boy, yet here he was tending to the Muggles garden like some sort of house-elf.

Severus slunk over, Harry had apparently finished with the lawnmower as he started to put it away. A difficult task when you can't lift the thing.

Harry turned around once he had put it away, spotting Severus. He smiled at the fox, putting his hand out and moving forwards carefully, obviously trying not to spook him.

Severus got closer, letting Harry scratch him behind the ear while he inspected the boy. He was thin, that was obvious, they couldn't have been feeding him properly if at all. Poking his head up Harry's shirt he could see scars and bruises littering the child's skin.

Harry giggled as the fur tickled his skin. “Don't go in there, silly fox.” He said, pulling Severus out from under his shirt.

The fox glared at him, not liking being interrupted. Harry didn't seem to notice continuing to pet him happily. Severus continued his inspection, trying to be as fox like as possible while doing so.

It was clear the boy wasn't healthy enough. Could Albus _really_ know how Potter was treated? _Surely_ he wouldn't allow it to continue if he did. So Severus grumbled something about the boy next time he saw him, hoping to have him check after the boy.

*** * ***

It was obvious Dumbledore hadn't, or if he had he'd done _nothing_ to help, when he saw a seven year old Harry being being forced and locked out of the house, by a large beefy man who was using way more force than would be required, seemingly because he thought it was fun. Harry looked down, fixing his shirt as best as he could and Severus stared at it, almost sure it was the same one he'd saw him wearing two years ago... at least it fit him better now.

Harry jumped suddenly behind a bush, Severus looked around to see why, seeing several boys running over to the garden, shouting and laughing. One of them looked exactly like the man who'd tossed Harry out of the house.

Harry tried to hide away from them but they rushed into the garden, and two boys grabbed him while the others laughed. The boy Severus presumed was Harry's cousin squared up to Harry, he was evidently _much_ better taken care of.

The situation reminded Severus of himself being attacked for no reason, so many against one, and then the laughter. It was all he could hear.

He sprinted at Harry's cousin, the obvious ring leader, jumping up - biting scratching and flailing. _Yes_ , he'd have preferred a nice hex but this did nicely.

Harry watched Dudley scream and try to get away from the fox, he remembered it from before, maybe it was his guardian... _fox_ , or something like that.

The two boys let him go and he started to run away, he didn't go too far though – he still wanted to watch the fox's attack. He laughed to himself, seeing Dudley shout for his mother and try to get into the locked house.

He stopped laughing when the door opened and Vernon came out, grabbing him roughly, the fox stopped his attack on Dudley and started biting Vernon's leg instead. Not wanting to jump up in case he got Harry instead.

He growled for Severus to get off, but Severus wasn't going to let go until he'd let go of Potter. Eventually Vernon realised he'd need two hands, so he threw Harry into the house and Severus let go, watching Harry scuttle off further inside disappearing into a cupboard under the stairs.

He tried to get in, curious, only just being missed by a kick at him from Vernon. He ran into a bush, knowing he'd not be able to get him in there. Seeing it was pointless Vernon stormed inside and Severus could only guess what was happening to Harry... because of him.

*** * ***

Harry stared into the shop window, he could see many things he'd love to have but there was one thing in there he wanted more than _anything_. He walked in cautiously. He'd never down anything like this before.

Well, he'd stolen food from the Dursley's... but only when he was _desperately_ hungry. He'd never be stupid enough any other time.

He just _had_ to have it though. He _needed_ it... or at least it felt that way to him.

It was a little plush fox, and he knew he was eight and way too old for stuffed toys, but he couldn't help but ache for it. It wasn't really the same as a toy anyway, it was more like a memory. Like a figure of Big Ben or a fridge magnet saying you'd been to Disneyland, only his was to remind him of his guardian.

He always hoped for his fox to show up again; he hadn't so far but he still had hope. It was two years between the first and last time he'd seen him so he guessed it would wait a bit before showing up again.

He grabbed the toy fox, it was nowhere near as good as _his_ fox but it was good enough for now. Then he stuffed it up his jumper. (There were some good things about wearing clothes too big for you.)

It was surprisingly easy to get out of the shop with it, though he wasn't that shocked, people never really paid much attention to him anyway. Getting it into his cupboard was easy too; he hid it in there, determined to never let anyone else find out about it. He was sure the Dursley's would do something horrible to it if they found out he had something he actually liked.

*** * ***

His fox hadn't come while he was nine as he'd hoped, but Harry was still holding out hope that he'd see his fox again. He was only _ten,_ it's not like his fox was late or anything.

He'd been reading about them in the school library at break, hoping to learn something that could take him to where ever his fox was. He thought maybe his fox was off helping other people.

He often thought about his fox and what he was up to. Sometimes he thought that maybe his fox could come and take him away from his aunt and uncle.

That's what he was thinking as he carried the washing into the kitchen absently mindedly, he wasn't paying attention so he was as shocked as Aunt Marge's dog was when he stepped on his tail. The thing chased him into the garden so he climbed to tree at the end of it to get away, but the dog just continued to bark from below him.

Aunt Marge had came out to see what was wrong with him, her mouth curled into a nasty grin when she saw Harry. He begged her to call the dog off, but she just ignored him going back inside and closing the door, so they couldn't hear the dog bark.

Harry wished he could set his fox on her. She wouldn't be able to get away from his fox though because his fox was _magical_ , that's why he always knew when Harry needed some help.

*****

Severus saw Harry huddled in a tree, clearly trying to keep away from the dog at the bottom that looked rabid. He wondered briefly how long Harry had been up there before he padded into the garden. Harry saw him and started to get excited that his fox had come to rescue him.

Severus hit at the dog, swiping at it with his claws leaving a scratch across it's nose. The dog howled and started towards Severus who stood firm, glaring at the dog who backed down. Severus believed the dog might have noticed there was something off about this fox and that's why he had decided to back down, regardless it left Severus and Harry alone.

Severus didn't stay long, he couldn't... not really, besides he didn't want to get Harry into trouble again. It was obvious Dumbledore wasn't going to do anything about the boy's situation, it wasn't part of the plan – moving him – so it wasn't going to happen.

He hadn't noticed he was gritting his teeth until Harry asked if he was alright. He left not longer after.

Harry was sad his fox hadn't stayed longer, but he had come back and helped him - he was sure he'd be stuck in that tree all night if he hadn't helped. He was also sad that his fox hadn't taken him away, but he guessed he was just busy so it was okay. Besides he had his plush still, so he wasn't _that_ lonely.

*** * ***

Harry sat outside sadly, he wished he'd got to see what was on that letter he'd got. He'd never got one before... he sighed deeply, wondering who it might have been from.

He closed his eyes, trying to imagine what the letter might have said, when he felt fur in his hand. He almost thought he was going insane when he opened his eyes and saw his fox holding a letter in it's mouth.

He pet his fox's head gently, taking the letter gratefully out of his mouth. It felt too real to be his imagination. He guessed it was just his fox knowing exactly what he needed, when he needed it.

*****

As soon as Severus found out Harry hadn't got his Hogwarts letter he decided to take the next one to him himself. He saw that it was addressed to the ' _Cupboard Under The Stairs_ ', two things made him feel sick about it. One was that Harry's bedroom was in the cupboard under the stairs. The other was that Dumbledore _knew_ , this was undeniable proof.

He waited for Harry to read his letter but he didn't get chance because, of course, the brute Harry called Uncle came out of his house, snatching the letter off Harry and chasing both of them away from the house.

Harry scuffed his worn trainers on the floor. “Thanks for bringing it anyway.” He shrugged. “Do you know what it was about?” He asked, and Severus contemplated turning back to his human self to explain it to him but decided against it, apart from wanting to keep his animagus hidden, he didn't want Harry to know it had been him all this time. It would make things... _awkward_.

They continued walking for a while, he noticed Harry staring longingly at a food trunk. He remembered how thin the child had been every time he'd seen him, and he was still _much_ too small now though he looked a little better. He slipped away, turning back into a human so he could get out some of the Muggle money he always found pertinent to keep handy.

Harry was looking for him when he came back. “ _There_ you are, I thought you left again.” He said, blushing slightly at how desperate he sounded. Severus dropped the money in front of Harry before nuzzling his ankle.

Harry looked back at the food trunk. “Thanks.” He said scratching Severus' chin.

He got some food, bringing over not only some for himself but also something for Severus as well. Severus stared at him confused, why hadn't he just got stuff for himself. “You should be able to eat that,” Harry said, tucking into his own food; he'd tried to remember what foxes ate, he was pretty sure most meats were okay. “But you don't have to if you don't want it.”

Severus didn't eat what Harry had brought him, but was actually surprisingly touched by it. Harry ate both of their meals, obviously needing it.

Harry went home after that and his fox disappeared once again. He wasn't going to see him for a long time this time... or at least he wouldn't know it was him.

The only thing Harry had made certain to take to the strange shack in the middle of nowhere Vernon had taken them to, was his fox toy. Everything else was meaningless to him. He wondered if his fox could get to the island they were on, he hoped so.

*** * ***

Harry never forgot about his fox. He never saw him again either but he guessed it made sense, he didn't need his fox any more. Well, there were plenty of times he could have done with him, but he'd made it out of everything alive so far so he figured he was okay.

He preferred to think his fox had just moved onto someone else who needed help. It was less depressing than any other alternative. Though it made him feel less special maybe that wasn't a bad thing, he'd kind of had enough of being special.

He still kept his plush though, after all this time it was the only thing that calmed him.

The war was over and he was now in his eighth year at Hogwarts, having came back to do his NEWTs, and then Merlin knows what.

*** * ***

He couldn't sleep, he very rarely could, so he went for a walk. He wasn't sure why but he put his now very old, very grubby fox plush into his pocket, needing the extra support while he roamed the castle.

It didn't have the same appeal as before, only really serving the purpose to get him tired enough for sleep.

He saw a tail go past and thought he might already be asleep, dreaming in his bed. He followed, it pinching himself.

It's wasn't a dream, it was real, he could see a fox – _his_ fox – running around the Hogwarts corridors. He followed him quietly. Remembering their last encounter vividly, he _knew_ it was the same fox, he'd know _his_ fox anywhere.

They were heading down to the Potions rooms, though the fox went past them and past the Slytherin common room too, stopping outside some random room.

Harry was getting closer when the fox grew and transformed into... _Snape_?! He stared at him shocked, the only words that could come out of his mouth were. “ _You're_ my fox?!”

It would have sounded insane to anyone else, but Severus knew _exactly_ what he meant and cursed himself for not just walking but he had had to use his animagus to escape he hospital wing, where he was still being treated for the bite that had almost killed him, and there seemed no point in changing back until absolutely necessary.

He didn't know how to respond. “You shouldn't be out of bed Potter.” He said, but there was no growl or bite in his voice, he sounded tired.

“You are though, aren't you?” Harry said getting closer, _too_ close. “You're my fox.”

“I don't...” Severus began, but Harry cut him off.

“All those times, it was _you_ who came and helped me.” He was saying it more to himself, he couldn't really wrap his mind around it. No one else had cared, he hadn't put it in his memories, he'd never told him. If he hadn't seen it now, Severus would have probably taken it to his grave.

If they hadn't saved him from the bite, he _would_ have.

“I hope you aren't too terribly disappointed.” Severus said sardonically, that was _always_ his defence, he knew now was when the hard questions would start. Like, _why_? The questions he just didn't have the answers to, and probably never would.

But Harry didn't ask any questions, he just fell forwards slightly clinging to Severus like his life depended on it. His hand rummaged though his pocket and pulled out his stuffed fox, clutching it in one hand. Severus saw it and wondered how long he had had it and where he had got it from, he didn't believe _they_ had brought it for him and it looked old and loved.

Harry remembered holding his plush fox as a child, the only comfort he ever really got. He held onto Snape, hugging him tightly, and Severus, for whatever reason, found himself hugging the boy back.


End file.
